I remember Mark Steel (who can be really funny given a chance) talking about how he'd often had arguments with the producer of a BBC radio comedy he worked on about what was or wasn't funny but this takes it to a whole new level.

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The BBC have done the odd thing...Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience was pretty good, and Would I Lie To You is one of the better ones...

I used to love comedy shows, can't think of much I find funny these days out side of "House of Fools" and whatever vehicle is propelling the former League of Gentlemen members along. Although they wouldn't be traditional comedy so suspect they don't count.

No doubt I have changed in that period, but when I view the older stuff that still makes me laugh so that is a little telling I suspect.

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Seems there is a great desire in the BBC to have 'equality' across comedy in recent years. Lets have an asian sit com, and a lead comedy female, and one thats black too. Just stick with who is funny and who gives a toss what gender or colour they are.

Little Miss Jocelyn and Miranda ? Lord how did these ever get approved.

Female comedians are just not very funny in general. Most women agree with this in my experience as well.

I remember Mark Steel (who can be really funny given a chance) talking about how he'd often had arguments with the producer of a BBC radio comedy he worked on about what was or wasn't funny but this takes it to a whole new level.

It's not just a British phenomenon. The excellent Sarah Silverman got a whole heap of abuse for a "racist joke", that isn't racist at all but depends on using a racist word.

In a July 2001 interview on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Silverman used the ethnic slur "chink" in explaining that a friend advised her to avoid jury duty by writing a racial slur on the selection form, "something inappropriate, like 'I hate chinks.'" Silverman said she decided that she did not want to be thought of as a racist, so "I wrote 'I love chinks'—and who doesn't?"

Silverman claimed the joke satirizes the racist thought process. Guy Aoki of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) objected to her use of the slur. NBC and O'Brien apologized, but Silverman did not. Later, appearing on Politically Incorrect in July and August 2001, Silverman questioned Aoki's sincerity, accusing him of exploiting the opportunity for publicity. On a later episode, Aoki appeared with Silverman and stated he did not accept Silverman's explanation, saying that it was not successful satire and that comedians should consult with groups such as his before performing such material. She stated in an NPR "Fresh Air" interview that she was asked to repeat the joke on Politically Incorrect, among other places, but eventually dropped it from her act because she felt it was becoming stale.

Silverman has since turned the complaint into grist for her standup act, saying that the experience helped teach her the important lesson that racism is bad: "And I mean bad, like in that black way."